Nowadays imaging methods are important in medical diagnostics. Modalities, such as for example x-ray devices, make possible recordings from the inside of a patient's body. Computed tomographs as x-ray devices are known, in which, by evaluation of a plurality of individual x-ray recordings, a two-dimensional or three-dimensional sectional representation to show the structures of the body can be created.
For the purposes of x-ray recording such a computed tomograph typically has a number of detector units, with which the radiation of an x-ray source is detected. During the examination the patient is positioned between the x-ray source and the detector units, wherein the different body structures absorb the x-ray radiation to different degrees. The different absorption or the intensity of the x-ray radiation that varies thereby is detected by the detector units and further processed by signaling technology to create a pictorial representation (x-ray image).
The detector units each comprise a plurality of individual detector elements (tiles), which are coupled in signaling technology terms by way of a functional unit to form a common, typically two-dimensional, detector array. The functional units acquire the measurement data and status information of the detector elements and send this for evaluation to a controller as the central control unit of the computed tomograph.
For activation of the detector elements, the controller sends a respective control signal to the functional units, which activate the individually assigned detector elements as a function of the control signal. Before each scan or each x-ray recording or data recording respectively it is therefore necessary for the controller to send corresponding scan parameters to the functional units. The functional units distribute the scan parameters accordingly to the individual detectors, generate offset tables and furthermore insure that the data recording or the x-ray measurement of the detector elements takes place in a synchronized manner. This means that a plurality of checking and/or control signals is needed during the operation of the x-ray device.
As a rule a clock signal is sent from the controller to the functional units for synchronizing the data recording. The functional units here typically have a multiplexer, which distributes the clock signal to a local control unit of the respective functional unit as well as to the individual assigned detector elements.